Former top cop to serve jail time

Posted
Tuesday, July 16, 2013 4:30 pm

William Flanagan

Courtesy Nassau County Police Department

By Julie Mansmann

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced Monday that a former county Police Department deputy commissioner has been sentenced to jail after he was convicted on charges in connection with his role in preventing the arrest of a Merrick teenager whose father was a personal friend and financial benefactor of the police.

William Flanagan, 55, was convicted of conspiracy and official misconduct in February. Rice said he took part in the alleged cover-up of now 21-year-old Zachary Parker’s break-in at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore four years ago.

Acting Supreme Court Judge Mark Cohen sentenced him to five months in jail on each of the two counts of official misconduct and 60 days in jail for the conspiracy charge. Rice noted that three of the five months of the Flanagan’s jail sentence on official misconduct can be satisfied if he serves 60 days of jail time and completes 420 hours of non-law-enforcement-related community service.

The sentences are to run concurrently. In addition, Rice said, Flanagan must pay a $1,000 fine. Pursuant to a defense application to the Appellate Division, Flanagan will remain free pending an appeal.

“Today’s sentence is the culmination of a case that sent a clear message to those who mistakenly think they can abuse the public trust without consequence,” Rice said. “This defendant violated his oath as a police officer and let down not just the public, but the hard-working men and women of the Nassau County Police Department who put their lives on the line every day.”